Erica Green and Justin George are leaving The Sun

Education reporter Erica Green and crime reporter Justin George are both leaving The Sun for new gigs.

Green is taking a job at the New York Times' Washington bureau, where she will continue to cover education. She said she will stay on into the middle of the month to finish up a project, written with Liz Bowie, that looks at the re-segregation of Maryland schools and the efforts of three districts to integrate.

George announced on Twitter this morning he has left for a job at The Marshall Project, an online criminal justice outlet led by former New York Times executive editor Bill Keller. He said he'll be covering policy and politics as well as street violence and policing. Yesterday was his last day.

With the city's violent start to 2017 and the school system locked in a budget fight, these beats are, obviously, important and highly visible for the city's paper of record. It's not yet clear what will happen with them.

In a phone interview, Green said she wasn't aware of who will fill in for her but assured that "Baltimore City Public Schools will continue to be covered by The Baltimore Sun."

George told City Paper that The Sun newsroom is looking at candidates for a variety of jobs, but the timing of any hires is unknown.

Reflecting on their time at The Sun, both journalists had nothing but positive things to say.

"I've really been blessed to work at my hometown paper, it was my career goal," Green said. "Every single day I've gotten to walk into this newsroom and live my dream."

Green teared up when discussing how proud she was to cover "kids who look like me" and are trying to better themselves through education.

"Baltimore raised me," she said. "I would just not be who I am if not for this city."

She took pride in holding the school system accountable, too, saying the paper covered children, education, and families "comprehensively and with compassion" during her time in the newsroom.

In his Twitter note, George said, "My 4.5 years at The Baltimore Sun were among the most rewarding of my career, & I was blessed to be in such a tough, dedicated & smart newsroom."

He also told City Paper, "I felt like we brought it back to glory during Freddie Gray."

The groups that have been covered by Green and George over the years shouldn't rest easy, though—both say they are going to continue covering Baltimore.